St. Catherine of Alexandria in Renaissance Roman Art

Download or read book St. Catherine of Alexandria in Renaissance Roman Art written by Cynthia Stollhans and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-07-05 with total page 205 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How and why did a medieval female saint from the Eastern Mediterranean come to be such a powerful symbol in early modern Rome? This study provides an overview of the development of the cult of Catherine of Alexandria in Renaissance Rome, exploring in particular how a saint's cult could be variously imaged and 'reinvented' to suit different eras and patronal interests. Cynthia Stollhans traces the evolution of the saint's imagery through the lens of patrons and their interests-with special focus on the importance of Catherine's image in the fashioning of her Roman identity-to show how her imagery served the religious, political, and/or social agendas of individual patrons and religious orders.